The present invention relates generally to plumbing and, more specifically, to a hanger designed to support multiple pipes.
Plumbing for residential and commercial buildings requires the installation of supply pipes to bring water to various fixtures, and drain or waste pipes to remove waste water from the fixtures. Typically, hot water supply pipes and cold water supply pipes are routed to various fixtures such as sinks, bathtubs, washing machines, and toilets. Each of these devices or fixtures typically produces waste water which is removed from the device by waste or drain pipes. Because the plumbing fixtures and devices are typically distributed at various locations in a building, both supply and drain pipes must be routed to a multitude of locations. A plumber or pipe installer is faced with the task of routing and interconnecting the supply and drain pipes throughout the building.
For most applications, copper or plastic water pipes are used to supply water to fixtures and devices while plastic or cast iron pipes are used as drain pipes. Both the supply and drain pipes must be installed in such a way that they are out of the way and are securely supported. Some of the pipes will be routed vertically inside of walls and supported or braced using straps and brackets. Horizontal runs of pipe are often routed immediately below the floor joists of the first floor of a building, either in a crawl space or basement. Because these pipes are located below the joists, it is preferred and usually necessary to support the pipes from the joists. For this purpose, a variety of straps, clamps, and hangers have been developed to interconnect both supply pipes and waste pipes with floor joists. Both types of pipes may be supported using elongated straps with the mid-portion of the strap supporting the pipe and both ends of the strap being attached to the floor joist. For additional security, the strap may be wrapped around the pipe one or more times. Use of these straps is especially common with drain pipes. As known to those of skill in the art, drain pipes are typically much larger in diameter than supply pipes. For example, for residential plumbing, xc2xd inch and xc2xe inch diameter copper and plastic pipe is used for supplying water. However, 1 xc2xd inch to 4 inch diameter plastic or cast iron pipe is typically used for the drain. Therefore, pipes and hangers designed for use with small supply pipes typically do not work well with larger drain pipes. Likewise, hangers or straps designed for large drain pipes do not work particularly well to support smaller supply pipes.
A large percentage of a plumber""s or pipe installer""s time in installing pipes in a building is spent locating, installing and adjusting hangers or brackets for the pipes. Therefore, there is a need for improved hangers or supports to simplify the installer""s job. Currently available hangers and supports do not adequately address this need. For example, there is a need for a hanger which will accommodate multiple pipes, preferably both supply and drain, that is not adequately met by the currently available hangers. It would be particularly advantageous if a single hanger could support several pipes and allow for a variety of configurations. Such a hanger would be most advantageous if it could support incoming supply pipes and outgoing drain pipes all in the same hanger.
Currently available pipe supports fall short of these desired characteristics. U.S. Pat. No. 3,588,011 to Peres et al. provides a one-piece holder clip for attaching a pair of similar sized pipes to a piece of wood in close proximity to one another. The device fails to provide for flexibility in pipe size or in positioning of the pipes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,891 to Schxc3xa4ty discloses a similar one-piece pipe clip with similar shortcomings.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,618,114 to McFarland provides a conduit spacer and support system. The system includes vertically and horizontally interlocking modular units designed to support a particular size of conduit. The system also includes a xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d shaped adapter designed to interconnect a smaller piece of conduit. The McFarland device is not directed to plumbing and does not address the need for supporting supply and waste pipe from a joist. The McFarland device also fails to provide other features of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,828 to Mxc3xcnch and U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,234 to Lyon both disclose brackets designed to clamp a single piece of pipe or conduit. Once again, these devices fail to address the need for supporting multiple pipes or conduits using a single bracket or hanger.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,383 to Rainville discloses a clamp for clamping three similarly sized pieces of tubing or conduit in close proximity, and in a fixed arrangement relative to one another. The Rainville device lacks flexibility in the arrangement of the pipes being clamped, as well as in the sizes of the pipes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,232 to Kesinger et al. discloses a TV cable hanger which includes an upper clamp for interconnection with a support pole and a lower clamp designed to support the TV cable. The two clamps are interconnected by a swivel. The Kesinger device is directed to a very particular need and is not suitable to the plumbing industry. Also, it does not provide for supporting multiple pipes in a variety of arrangements.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,703,330 to Kujawski discloses a carrier for a wiring harness and tube bundle which includes a xe2x80x9cCxe2x80x9d shaped portion designed to grasp a wiring harness and three (3) outwardly facing smaller xe2x80x9cCxe2x80x9d shaped clamps joined to the back side of the larger clamp. A pair of these clamps may be interconnected so as to completely surround the conduit. As with the prior devices, the Kujawski device fails to address the needs of the plumbing industry. Specifically, it fails to provide for a flexible arrangement of a variety of pipe sizes and also enforces a close proximity between the specific sizes of tubular elements it is designed to grasp. It also lacks a hanger for supporting the carrier from a support element.
The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a hanger for supporting multiple pipes from a support member. The hanger includes a pipe clamp with a generally circular opening. The clamp has a top portion above the opening and a bottom portion below the opening. An attachment member is designed to attach to the support member and is interconnected with the top portion of the pipe clamp. A first extension arm has one end interconnected with the bottom portion of the pipe clamp and another end that extends away from the bottom portion of the pipe clamp. A pipe clip is interconnected with the free end of the arm.